


The iron fist in the velvet glove

by Flexor



Series: The Caffeine Files [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Discrimination, Friendship, Interracial relations, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9048292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flexor/pseuds/Flexor
Summary: The fourth installment in my Team CFVY Adoption Scheme. No sex this time, sorry... Lots of violence though.Velvet Scarlatina looks like the prey animal of her Faunus heritage. So naturally, predators appear. Luckily, she also has friends, and Fox and Yatsuhashi won't stand idly by when their teammate is bullied. But what is the right thing to do? What will help, and what will hurt?





	

Yatsuhashi Daichi's maths coursework always looked like it was printed at an official publisher. Being a thoughtful and careful individual, he worked things out in his head before committing them to paper, or spoken word. It had given him a reputation for being solid as a rock, utterly dependable, or as his teammate Fox Alistair put it, dead as a fish. Fox' hand-written work by contrast looked like ancient Mantle runes predicting a particularly violent death to someone. Fox did have the excuse that he could not see what he was doing, having lost his sight when he was a very young boy. He handed in most of his coursework using voice recognition on his scroll. Yatsuhashi checked over the last equation carefully, saw that it was Good, and underlined the answer, twice.

The door opened, and a girl came in wearing her school uniform. Or rather, what was left of it. One of the sleeves of her jacket was gone, and all the buttons had been torn from her shirt. She was clutching the remains of an essay on the tactics to use against King Taijitu Grimm. In a flash of red-eyed distress, she ran to her bed, kicked her shoes off, and fell down on it, turning her back on the world.

"Velvet?" Yatsuhashi walked over to the bed, and bent over her. She wasn't crying.

"I'm okay," said Velvet, in between short breaths.

"You don't _sound_ okay, Bunny Girl," said Fox. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

Yatsuhashi sat down on Velvet's bed and with a massive hand gently stroked her shoulder.

"Who did this to you?"

"Nobody."

"What," said Fox, "like in the Onyxiae? Some guy named Nobody?"

"Humans," said Velvet.

Yatsuhashi pulled his hand away as if he'd burnt himself. "I am sorry," he said.

Velvet sneered at him over her shoulder. "Not _you_ , some of the freshers." She sat up, looked at her team-mates. "I've had worse. This jacket is ruined. I shouldn't have tried to pull away."

"Wrong my friend," said Yatsuhashi. " _They_ should have left you alone. We will explain this to them. In a way that they will understand."

"Hands on," said Fox, cracking his knuckles.

" _No!_ " Velvet leapt up, ran to the door, and stood in front of it, arms spread. "Please! Don't do that."

"What?" said Fox.

"Please don't find them, don't fight with them. Just..." Velvet closed her eyes. "Just let it go."

"You wish us to simply stand by while they torment you?" Yatsuhashi shook his head. "I took an oath to protect you, Velvet."

"Please." Velvet took a step forward and touched both her teammate's shoulders. "Beating them up is not the solution. It won't help."

Fox scowled. "It'll get through to them that there's things that you don't _do_ if you like your teeth to stay where they are. And bullying my teammates is one of them."

"Fox, please listen. I know you mean well. I know you're angry, but this is not what I need you to do. If you pick fights, you'll get in trouble, maybe they'll expel you and then I'll be alone."

"They're not gonna throw out the blind guy. Look terrible on their record."

"Fox, _no_! Please."

Yatsuhashi bowed his head. "It is not ours to take your revenge for you, Velvet. You have my word. I will not retaliate. It _is_ my task to defend you, though. If I see anyone, Human, Faunus, or Grimm, attack you, then I will break them."

"Thank you," said Velvet, in a sigh. "Fox?"

"I don't like this, Velvet. I don't want you to become everybody's doormat. I've _been_ there. It's not a good place."

"I know. Promise me, Fox."

"Okay. I won't lay a hand on them. I promise."

Velvet put her arms round Fox, hugged him.

"Thank you." 

* * *

 

They had left Velvet to herself, so she could compose herself. They were walking to the cafeteria.

"Hey Big Guy," said Fox. "Want to go find out who bullied Velvet?"

Yatsuhashi sighed. "The answer may well be 'Everybody'. Anti Faunus sentiments have not disappeared yet."

"Stupid people," said Fox. "An asshole is an asshole, tail or no tail. And just look at Velvet. She's so nice that if she'd get close to someone as nice as she was, the world would explode in a cloud of sparkles and rainbows. And then this bastard comes in and craps on her because she's got rabbit ears. Makes my blood boil."

"And mine," said Yatsuhashi. "I agree. Let's find out who these people are, so we can at least keep them away from Velvet."

"That's not all I'm going to do, Yatsu."

"Fox, you promised."

Fox grinned, teeth showing through his damaged lips. "I'll keep my promise, don't you worry. I won't lay a hand on them." He thought a few moments. "I'm going to need an out of the way room, not too large, and a pot of blackout paint. And someone with a working pair of eyes." 

 

They walked into the cafeteria. Coco wasn't there, so they grabbed a coffee and sat down at a table near the middle, listening carefully. The chatter was the normal kind you hear in every school in the Universe. Talk about teachers, classes, boys, girls, music bands, the latest games fresh from the CCT. Nobody was bragging about knocking a small rabbit-eared girl around, or loudly proclaiming Faunus to be the scum of the earth.

"We didn't ask Velvet who it was," said Fox. "Would've made it easier."

"She would not have told us," said Yatsuhashi.

"Yeah," said Fox. "I get it. It's the 'don't make them angry' thing. If you don't get them angry, they'll stay away. And it's a load of crap. You don't stand up, they're gonna think you're a pushover, and _really_ crap on you. I got the scars to prove it." He scowled. "And that's _not_ going to happen to my little sister."

"We will not stand for it," said Yatsuhashi. He frowned. "I see something."

Yatsuhashi got up, walked away for a moment, then came back, put something on the table in front of Fox.

"Velvet's sleeve."

"Know what that means?" Fox growled. "It happened right here in the middle of the damn cafeteria." He slammed his fist on the table. "Right in front of _everyone_! And _nobody_ lifted a damn finger!" 

 

"Why should they? That's what Faunus are there for."

Fox slowly turned his head round. "What?"

"Oh come on. You know what Rabbit Faunus are known for. You've got her in your _team_. Don't tell me you don't know what she looks like without her uniform."

Fox gave the new speaker the full benefit of his milky white stare. "As a matter of fact, I don't."

"Ye Gods, a bunny-eared freak and a blind guy. You really _are_ a bunch of special needs cases, aren't you?"

Another voice joined in. "Hey Chad, maybe he's a Faunus too. A Bat Faunus."

"Or a Mole Faunus," added a third.

"Got one big advantage, though," said Fox. "I don't have to look at your faces. At least I get to keep my lunch inside."

"Funny guy eh?" Chad bent over to Fox. "Wanna see what your smile is like once I take your teeth out?"

"Pardon me," said Yatsuhashi. "We are in the same team. I will not stand idly by while you attack him."

"Stay out of this, Yatsu. These assholes are mine." Fox stood up. "You want a piece of me, you can have it. But not here. Teachers'll be on you before you can count to ten. Hang on, scratch that. Before _I_ can count to ten. You'll take hours."

"You're going to wish you hadn't said that, mole-boy."

"Let's go." 

 

Fox trotted out to the room he and Yatsu had spent some time preparing, the toilets the fourth-years had left after graduation. In a few months, Beacon Academy was expecting guests from abroad, for the Vytal Festival, and they would be using these facilities. For now, it was Fox' play room.

Fox was the first to enter, and he walked to the middle of the room. It was lovely and echoey, just what Fox needed for hearing where his enemies were. With the light on, nobody noticed that the windows had been painted black. A slender but sturdy rope was hanging from the one functioning tube light, and Fox closed his hand on it. Behind him, he heard someone close the door and lock it.

"You're going to love being stuck in here with us, Mole-boy."

Fox didn't answer, but pulled the rope. Shards of glass fell round him, as the entire washroom fell into into complete and utter darkness. There was a moment of silence as four boys realised they'd been had. Fox clicked his tongue to get his bearings, and moved to one of the walls.

"Now, _nobody_ sees. Welcome to my world, bitches."

One of the boys tried to open the door, but the handle didn't work, possibly due to Yatsuhashi holding it on the outside. Fox grinned like a shark, lurking in a corner as the other boys blundered about in the dark, shouting at each other, shouting threats at Fox. Fox had to try hard to keep from laughing. He could hear footsteps, curses. Two of the boys were drawing close, Fox leapt towards them, shouted in one of the boys' ears, then ducked away. The boy swung a mighty punch at the place where Fox was only a moment ago, overshot, and hit his friend instead. The other punched back, thinking it had been Fox who hit him. Fox moved along the wall towards the door. Someone else was doing the same thing. Fox closed in.

"Quick! He's over there!"

The other's fist swung round, and he howled as he hit the wall instead. Fox went low, reached the door, banged his fist on it four times, then twice. The door opened, he rolled out into the hallway. The door closed again. Fox put his ear to the door. Inside, the fight was really picking up. Fox sat down with his back against the door, and laughed till he ran out of breath.

"Let us leave," said Yatsuhashi. "Before our friends find peace in their hearts, and cease their hostility."

He gave a good hard pull on the door handle and it came off in his hand. He dropped it on the floor. Yatsuhashi and Fox ran off to their dorm. 

* * *

 

Coco Adel walked into her dorm, to a sight she'd never thought she'd ever see. Velvet was _furious_ , and shouting at the top of her voice at Yatsuhashi and Fox.

"Why, _why_ do I have to walk into the cafeteria to see those imbeciles all covered in bruises? You went in there and beat them up! When I specifically asked, no _begged_ you not to!"

"They beat _themselves_ up, Velvet," said Fox.

"That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard!"

"It is true," said Yatsuhashi. "There was no aggression from us. They brought their own hatred with them, and it turned on them."

"You _manipulated_ them into attacking each other."

Coco clapped her hands. "Hello. What the hell is going on here?"

Velvet whirled round, pointed at the boys. "They... they..."

"Velvet got bullied by a bunch of assholes," said Fox. "I don't _like_ assholes bullying Velvet."

Coco's dark glasses turned round. "Velvet dear? Why don't I know of this?"

"It... it was only this afternoon."

"Were you _going_ to mention it? Because I have ways of dealing with stuff like that. They don't involve the bear cubs here taking matters into their own hands."

"Really?" Velvet sneered. "Tell Ozpin on them? He already knows what's going on. But really, what can _he_ do? He'd end up expelling half the school."

"He..." Coco fell silent.

Velvet pointed at the Team CFVY sofa. "Sit down. I'll explain this to you one more time." 

 

Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco sat on the sofa while Velvet paced back and forth.

"Let me say first, I love you all. This year, you've become my family, when I never expected that to happen. My..." Velvet swallowed. "Some people have told me I was mad for going to Beacon. It's a place of Humans. Humans are not our friends. They look on us as savages. Beasts. Animals. Degenerates."

" _We_ don't, sweetie," said Coco.

"I believe you. And there are others. Many. Most, even. Which is why I'll try my hardest never to say anything against Humans as a whole. I'm sorry, Yatsu."

"I apologise on behalf of my race," said Yatsu.

"Don't," said Velvet. "Really. Don't. Say sorry if you step on my toes. _Don't_ say sorry if someone _else_ steps on my toes, simply because they also happen to be Human. It _still_ divides the world into Human and Faunus, when you should be dividing it into good people and bad people." Velvet took a breath. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"To learn the skills of a Huntress," said Fox. "That's why we're all here."

"There's very good fight schools on Menagerie," said Velvet. "But I want to be here. I want to be among you. I want to be among Humans. I'm not the only one. I've spotted a few Faunus among the freshers. Some of them hide what they are, wear hats over their horns, tuck in their tails. They have their own reasons." Velvet pointed at her head. "I can't hide what I am. Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"You're painting a target on your back, Velvet," said Fox.

"I know. But I also make friends. Like you. Human friends. _Real_ friends." She smiled at Yatsuhashi. "When you left home for Beacon, did you ever dream that some girl with silly rabbit ears would give you relationship advice?"

Yatsuhashi smiled. "I must admit, I didn't."

"Fox. You call me your little baby sister. I've never had a big brother."

"A big _stupid_ brother?"

"Your words, not mine." Velvet laughed. "I just happen to agree."

"Oh thanks, Sis."

"I was so scared when first I came here, the first night I wanted to turn tail and run back to Menagerie. But then I met you, and things weren't so bad."

Coco pushed up her dark glasses. "We're lucky to have you, Velvet."

"And I have met so many Humans who thought that Faunus were only here to kill their children and Frith knows what else. And I talked with them, and then they realise that we're not monsters. That we love our children too. That all we want is to live our lives in peace, just like Humans."

"We have a way to go," said Yatsuhashi. "Look at what happened today."

"Every time someone pulls my ears. Trips me up. Steals my books. Pulls my hair. That's small stuff. I can take it."

"Sure you can," said Fox. "But this sort of sh... stuff gets worse if you don't nip it in the bud. I won't let you get hurt, little Sister."

Velvet gave a little sneer. "When push comes to shove, and shove comes to weapons drawn, I _can_ fight. But I'm not here to continue the Human and Faunus war."

"This is not about you being a Faunus. If this happened to Coco, I'd do exactly the same."

Coco looked at Fox over her glasses. "If this happened to Coco, she'd give them a full drum of ammo up the butt."

"You get to do that," said Velvet. "You're human. If I'd do it, it would be seen as evidence that Faunus can't be trusted."

Coco opened her mouth to say something, and stopped.

"People here used to hate and distrust Vacuo people, until they came here. Now everybody loves the Vacuo pizzas. You can't hate people who feed you. I'm here to show Humans that Faunus can keep them alive. That we can keep each other alive. If we fight between ourselves, the Enemy can just wait for us to kill each other, and then pick off whoever is left."

"What is this Enemy you speak of?" said Yatsuhashi. "Grimm?"

"Why don't you think we go into the Menagerie Desert? Not because we can't stand the heat, but because the Grimm there have grown horrible. We have the technology to survive in the desert, but we can only fight off the Grimm in fortified places. Natural defences. But it's getting harder and harder. I don't know how much longer Kuo Kuana can stand. And we're not the only ones. Vale and Mistral villages disappear. Don't know about Atlas, but Vacuo isn't resting easy. We cannot afford to stay separate. We need each other. So I'm here. I'll be the best friend I can be. I'll cherish the good. I'll endure the bad."

Coco got up. She wrapped her arms round Velvet. "You're the bravest girl I know."

Velvet rested her head on Coco's shoulder. "No, I'm not. There's just things I'm more scared of than stupid Humans and stupid Faunus. So please. No more retaliation. No teaching them a lesson. No more fighting. No more getting them to fight themselves, _Fox_. Do you understand?"

"I'm still going to hug you to death," said Coco.

Velvet closed her eyes and leaned against her.

"That's allowed." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Reader,
> 
> If you've come this far, talk to me! Did you enjoy what I wrote? What did I get right? What did I get wrong? Any and all comments are appreciated, both positive and negative.,
> 
> Yours,  
> Your Chronicler.


End file.
